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Ho. 6l6,507. Patented ll ec. 27, I898. c. VAN DEVENTEB.

INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET AND BASE. (Application filed A r. 1, 1898.\ (No Model.) 2 Sheets8heet4.

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C. VAN DEVENTER. INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET AND BASE.

(Application filed Apr. 1, 1898.)

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' lUNiTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER VAN DEVENTER, OF NE W YORK, N. Y.

INCANDESCENT-ELECTRlC-LAMP SOCKET AND BASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,507, dated December 27, 1898.

Application filed April 1, 1898. Serial No. 676,055. (No model.)

To alt "to/tom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER VAN Dn VENTER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in IncandescentElectric-Lamp Sockets and Bases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a lamp base, socket, and other details, all in combination and forming means for holding incandescent electric lamps.

The objects of theinvention are to provide a device of this nature involving-the least number of parts for accomplishing the desired results, to obtain a waterproof lamp-socket, to equip the socket with terminals in such a manner that the terminals may not be easily short-circuited by ones fingers or tools employed inside of the socket when the lamp is out of its socket, and to so arrange the elements that thelamp may be turned so that the two arms of the filament may radiate the light to the desired object without obstruction,or so that one arm of the filament will not stand in the path of the rays emanating from the other arm, and so that the lamp as thus constructed may be placed into the socket with one hand only.

The invention in all its details is set forth in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan of the lamp with its base. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same part as shown in Fig. 1. The filament is seen edgewise. Fig. 3 is one side view, and Fig. 4: another side View, of the complete socket as it is ready for outside electric connections. Fig. 5 is a view of part of the socket taken from Fig. 4 to show the cylindrical covering by itself, with the slanting slot for the entrance of the shaftof the handle of the circuit closer or switch. Fig. 6 is a side View, partly in section, of the lamp and base, being the same part as seen in Fig. 2, except that the lamp is turned around at right angles and is partly in section. Fig. 6 is a section of a portion of Fig. 6 at the line X. Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken through the complete socket minus the base of the lamp. Some of the parts, as the cylindrical features, are not shown in section. Fig. 8 is a plan of the interior of that which is shown in Fig. 7, the

cover for the entrance of the leading in wires being omitted. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of that which is shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 1.0 is a section in a horizontal direction of that seen in Fig. 9, the section being taken at the center of the device. Fig. 11 is a similar section with the lamp-base inside thereof, so as to show the lamp-terminal in contact with the spring-terminal of the socket. Fig. 12 is a view of the shell by itself, being the one that goes next over the lamp-base.

a is the lampglobe, and Z) the filament. (Seen in side View in Fig. 6 and in edge view in Fig. 2.)

The lamp-base is lettered c, and part of its interior construction is visible; but the invention does not relate to all the details of this part, but more especially to the relative location at the terminals, which are d and 6. Its essential parts consist of the ring f, into which the end of the bulb or globe a is sealed by plaster g. The terminal 61 has a corrugated projection which is buried in the plaster, and the said terminal may, furthermore, be held to the cement or plaster by screws h. As the base f is made of insulating material screws may be applied through the same and the projection d. The object is to connect the metallic terminal 01 to the base f, so as to be rigid therewith. The terminal eis, of course, made of metal and passes through the insulator f. The head of the terminal projects somewhat from the wall of the insulator f, so that it may enter the slot i in the casing j belonging to the socket part of the device. The casing j is also an insulator and has at each end an annular projection 7:) and k around the outside rim. The slot 1' begins at the lower end of the casingj and extends upward about half-way and then by a downward curve passes around the middle more than ninety degrees, being large enough to receive throughout its length the pin-terminal 6, whose head projects beyond the wall of the insulator j and bears against the spring-terminal belonging to the casingj. This spring-terminal is lettered Z. As indicated, the head of the terminal is rounded, so that it may enter beneath the spring Z with slight pressure to make good electric contact. The spring Z at the slot 2' is slightly turned up to prevent the head e from being caught when the base enters the slot. As the base f is turned around the contact of the pin-terminal e and the spring l remains, so that the filament is not cut out of the circuit. By this construction I secure the ability to turn the filament to radiate most etiiciently the light to the object desired. One end of this spring Z is secured to the side of the wall of the casing j, as shown at the screw 'm. A conductor n leads from the spring-terminal Z to the terminal 0 in the path of the circuitcloser p. The terminal 0 is fixed to the end of the casing j and is of spring metal, so as to press upon the circuit-closer p when the latter is turned into its path. The corresponding spring terminal for the circuitcloser is lettered o, and it is also in the path of said circuit-closer. The bearing for the circuit-closer is lettered q and is omitted from the view in Fig. 9 to make the figure less confusing. The terminal 0 is not connected to the horseshoe terminal '2", which extends over the hole 3, so that the current entering the filament by the terminal 0 may have its exit by the terminal 1". It should be noticed that by this construction the terminals for the lamp-base are respectively within and without the socket, the one being the outer terminal Z and the other the inner terminal 1'.

The covering for the socket is made up as follows: it is a cylinder held against the annular projections k and k by screws, some of which are visible in Fig. 7 at u. The slanting slot to" is at the upper end of the cylinder 1t, and it is for receiving the shaft of the circuit-closer 19 in one direction, while the other slot 7) in the upper cover o is for receiving the said shaft from the other direction. The consequence of this construction is that when the cover 12 is placed over the cover it and clamped thereto by the pin w entering the hole 20 in the cover 1; the absence of any opening around the saidshaft is apparent, and thus all dust and moisture are almost entirely excluded.

The operation of this device is simple. To wire it, for example, the cap-cover o is removed by turning it around to the left, referring to Fig. 4:. I The wires are brought into the cap by passing through the hole at, and then the ends of the wires are attached, respectively, to the binding-screws 'y and 'y. The cap or cover 1; is then applied substantially in the same manner in which it was taken off. Then the lamp with its base may be attached to the socket by pushing the base finto the socket, so that the head 6 enters the slot i in the casing j, and turning the lamp and base relatively to the socket, so that the said head 6 will pass more or less around the casingj, while still remaining in the slot i. In this manner the head or terminal of the filament is caused to bear against the springterminal even if the lamp is turned as much as about ninety degrees. This is so for the reason that the filament may present both of its limbs to radiate their light without ob an insulating-casing having a hole for-each of said terminals, respectively at the side and at the end, said terminals being those of the filament of the lamp, and terminals of the leading-in wires for the socket, attached with in a given socket and respectively in contact with the said filament-terminals.

2. The combination of alamphavingabase, and filament-terminals respectively on the end and on the side of the said base, an insulatingcasing fitting over the said base, and having holes forthe passage of the said terminals, a spring-terminal fastened to the outside of the said casing, and extending about ninety degrees at least around the said casing,and bearing upon the said side terminal of the filament, the spring-terminal being one of the terminals of the socket, a second terminal bearing upon the other filament-terminal, and lettered r, and attached to the top and on the outside of the said casing, a covering it, over the casing named, and having a slot '0, slanting to one side for the entrance of the shaft of a given circuit-closer, and a second covering 0 also having a slanting slot to for the reception of the same shaft.

3. The combination with a lam p-socket and v with its base, of socket-terminals respectively at the side of the socket and its end, and an insulating-casin g within the socket and acting as a lining for the same, and provided with openings for the filament-terminals which are carried by the said base, and said socket-terminals being on the outside of the insulatingcasing.

4. The combination with a socket made with two covers it, and '0 fastened together byabayonet-joint, and provided with slots respectively lettered v and it which slant in opposite directions, of a circuit-closer whose shaft passes through those portions of the slots which overlap.

5. The combination with a lamp-socket and with its base, of socket-terminals respectively at the side of the socket and its end, and an insulating-casing within the socket and acting as a lining for the same, and provided with openings for the filament-terminals which are carried by the said base, one of the socket-terminals being a spring fastened to the outside of the said casing and extending ninety degrees at least around the said casing, and bearing upon the side filament-terminal. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name, this 25th day of March, 1898, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER VAN DEVENTER. W'itnesses:

IRVING L. REED, GARRIOK N. A. BOYLE. 

